AOL sells off Bebo say press reports

According to press reports, AOL has finally got rid of its Bebo albatross. The social media company, once the hottest website among UK's teenagers, has been sold to an unknown buyer, according to a report in Mashable. No one from AOL was commenting on this although the Wall Street Journal has suggested that the buyer was private equity company Criterion according to The Wall Street Journal.

The price has not been revealed, although the WSJ has said that it was a fraction of the price that AOL paid for it two years ago. In April, AOL threatened to shut the site down unless a buyer could be found.

Bebo has been a victim of the onward march of the dominant Facebook. Like the once market-leading My Space, struggling since its acquisition by News Corp, Bebo has suffered from a falling number of users. Bebo has never been as popular in the US as it has been in Europe. Analysts have also speculated on the future of My Space. Earlier this year, News Corp's owner Rupert Murdoch admitted that the company had "made mistakes" with My Space.

Related Whitepapers

Copyright 2018 IDG Communications. ABN 14 001 592 650. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of IDG Communications is prohibited.